Estranged husband convicted of murder-for-hire in killing of art dealer in Brazil

NEW YORK — The estranged husband of a prominent New York City art dealer was convicted Friday of hiring a hitman to kill him in Brazil.

Daniel Sikkema, 55, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Brent Sikkema, 75, was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro townhouse in January 2024.

Daniel Sikkema, a U.S. and Cuban citizen who lived in New York, was arrested in April 2024. He was convicted in federal court in Manhattan of charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death.

The alleged hitman was arrested in Brazil, where he remains jailed.

“Amid contentious divorce proceedings with his then-husband, Daniel Sikkema used a burner phone line to callously order the killing of his husband,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said.

Clayton described Brent Sikkema’s killing as a “senseless, cold-blooded murder” and said the verdict brings a “meaningful measure of justice.”

A message seeking comment was left for Daniel Sikkema’s lawyer.

Brent Sikkema had amassed a multimillion-dollar estate and owned a Manhattan contemporary art gallery that became Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, which says on its website that it has represented international artists like Kara Walker, Vik Muniz and Arturo Herrera for nearly 30 years.

Daniel Sikkema was in frequent contact with the alleged hitman before and after the killing, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Pavlis told the jury in an opening statement that Daniel Sikkema had funneled over $10,000 to the man and promised him more money.

At the same time, Pavlis said, Daniel Sikkema bragged to others that he was going to get more money from his spouse’s death than he would have gotten from a divorce. He and Brent Sikkema had a teenage son.

“After his husband was brutally killed, the defendant tried to cover his tracks and cash in,” Pavlis said.

Daniel Sikkema’s lawyer, Florian Miedel, told the jury in an opening statement that case was built on circumstantial evidence and that there was no evidence to prove the guilt of his client.

“Life is messy. The truth is not always obvious,” Miedel said.